1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a control device for the actuation of lamps in particular of internal aircraft lighting, wherein the control device has an input for the supply of an input signal and a plurality of outputs for passing output signals to connected lamps, and a lighting system having such a control device, a regulating signal-producing means and a plurality of lamps.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Conventional lamp control devices are designed for controlling a given type of lamp. Thus they supply for example analog voltage signals for the actuation of halogen lamps, pulse width-modulated signals for the actuation of light emitting diodes, or frequency-modulated ac voltage signals for the actuation of electroluminescence lamps. Also, various lamps of a type of lamp often have different actuation characteristics so that one lamp with half electrical power also produces half the brightness while the other lamp for that purpose requires only 30% of the full electrical power.
In case that now a plurality of lamps of different types or with different lamp characteristics are to be controlled together, that is to say they are for example to be dimmed jointly from a brightness of 100% to a brightness of 50%, it is then necessary, for each type of lamp or for each lamp characteristic, to use its own specific control device to which the respective signal ‘half brightness’ has to be passed. The foregoing involves a considerable degree of structural expenditure.